•Check in with the lifeguard about currents and conditions when first arriving to the beach

•Always swim in front of a lifeguard

•Don't swim or dive near rocks, where there are currents

•Don't climb rocks or walk in between beaches, especially during high surf

•Don't climb Goff Island, just south of Christmas Cove

"All those coves are magic in their own way. Shaw's hit homes for me when I was young and would go down there and boogie board as my dad went abalone diving with his buddies when it was legal to dive for them. Then in high school there were some fun sneaky keg parties down at Wood's Cove. We would bury a keg and when the cops came we would untap the keg, cover it with a towel and sprinkle sand over it as camouflage, then come back later and re-tap it. But being a hungry surfer of Laguna there are some magic moments when the tides are right, the swell direction is pumping a certain way, and you got the call in from some old high school friend who lives on the inside of the private gate guarded Irvine Cove. As my saying goes...'Every cove has its day in Laguna.'"

- Steven "Sli Dawg" Chew, Laguna Beach native

"One of my favorite coves in Laguna is Lovers because of all the sea glass that is there. Rumor has it that during the prohibition era there was a makeshift pier coming off the rocks at North Wood's Cove, where the blow hole is. Smugglers would pull up their boats and unload their cargo which they would drink on the bluff there and then throw the bottles down on the rocks. They must have drank and smashed a lot of bottles on the rocks if the story is true as there is a lot of sea glass on the beach. You'll see collector's everyday and I can only imagine the amount glass that Lovers Cove has yielded over the years."

- Brandy Faber, resident of Laguna for 37 years

"Shaw's Cove...is the most popular beach for training new scuba divers. It is well protected from the swells and there is a lot to see. Visibility here can vary from morning to night because of the kelp at the front of the cove. What makes it so popular for training new divers is you can keep them shallow, use flat open sand for skills, and then cruise them over to the reefs for some aquarium experience with all of the life. You will see a lot here very commonly. You will typically see tons of garibaldi, gobys, rock fish, octopus, lots of sand bass, lobsters, horn sharks every now and then. Also, small leopard sharks, kelp fish, nudibranchs, calico bass, bat rays, all kinds of perches, etc. Lots of life here!"

- Bob Newberry, scuba diver in Laguna for eight years and owner of Dive and Photo shop in Irvine since 2011

"Funny thing about Christmas cove is that on the rare occasion there can be a pretty fun wave that breaks there every blue moon or so. For about a week during my senior year in high school my friend Brian Papa and I surfed down there for an entire week by ourselves. Surfing these fun little waist-high (waves) that peeled across the cove. Laughing and giggling like it was our own little secret spot. Then after surfing for a couple hours we would go to the back door at Lopaz Mexican restaurant for the 'combo' which was beans, rice and flour tortillas to go for a $1.50 and sit on the bench over looking Oak Street. Just two kids loving life in Laguna Beach and cherishing the moments."

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